Saturday, November 1, 2008

Beatles' Illustrated Thesaurus

A reader requested that I provide the entire Beatles Thesaurus that was mentioned in a recent post. This is for research purposes only. I do not claim any rights to this document and will remove it immediately at the request of the copyright holder. Click on each picture for a larger version.

Thanks to those who got my little Halloween joke. There was nothing "cryptic" about it, but it did contain one hidden message. It wasn't intended as a real clue, just a one word message from me. You have to enlarge the print to see it.

Regarding the illustated thesaurus, which was the subject of this particular initial blog entry, the "Jude" reference (from "Hey Jude") is interesting.

It's said to be somewhat of a mystery and probably a reference to John or one of the other Beatles.

Today, there is supposed to be a consensus that "Jude" was a reference to Julian Lennon and that this song is supposed to be a reaction to the break-up of the marriage of his parents, but this thesaurus from 1969 suggests that there was no such consensus at the time.

The below link takes you to something else that looks genuine, but it has been TOTALLY fabricated with Photoshop. (This example was posted previously by someone)

http://psdtuts.s3.amazonaws.com/170_Letter_Love/final.jpg

I am still interested to see what nicknacks were put into the suitcase; they have had a lot of time to fabricate something. Whatever is shown, no matter how "wonderful" (I like that, thank you Mike), still isn't proof of anything.

And "TUB", you are a prime example of what I meant the other day when I intimated that hard-line PIA'ers had some of the same cranial-rectal issues that hard-line PID'ers do.

The Beatles PROMOTED what it is that you call "insanity". They PROMOTED the lie.

Hardline PIA'ers who want to unconditionally accept and celebrate Paul McCartney's life without further question are failing to hold him and the other Beatles accountable for their role in the rumors concerning his death.

There is an age-old story about an individual who kills his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court on the grounds that he is an orphan.

The Beatles exhibited a similar hubris when they acted insulted or bemused at the idea that anyone would believe their own hidden messages suggesting the death of Paul McCartney.

But while the plea of the guy who murdered his parents probably didn't work, the Beatles seem to have found no shortage of shills who have been willing to exonerate the messengers and attack those who listened to the messages.

when are we going to have some news from the suitcase, COME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

65If said "The Beatles PROMOTED what it is that you call "insanity". They PROMOTED the lie.

Hardline PIA'ers who want to unconditionally accept and celebrate Paul McCartney's life without further question are failing to hold him and the other Beatles accountable for their role in the rumors concerning his death.

There is an age-old story about an individual who kills his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court on the grounds that he is an orphan.

The Beatles exhibited a similar hubris when they acted insulted or bemused at the idea that anyone would believe their own hidden messages suggesting the death of Paul McCartney."

The problem with all that is if it were true and the Beatles promoted the idea of Paul being dead, it's not a crime. It would be similar to Orson Welles going on the radio and talking about a Martian invasion in 1938 (today being a few days after Halloween and all) and when people panicked he simply held a press conference and said he was shocked that anyone took it seriously depsite all of his associates coming out later and saying that Orson knew exactly what he was doing and just wanted to cause a sensation. Anyone who was fooled by the broadcast was angry at the time but it quietly subsided and now we look back on it fondly..much like how PID is perceived today.

The parallels between PID and the War Of The Worlds broadcast are interesting IF the Beatles intentionally put PID clues on their records. For one both have to be taken with a grain of salt. Both Orson and The Beatles did not go on the evening news with their information (that WOULD have been a crime) but instead opted for a radio play and in the Beatles' case record albums. Both are not meant to be taken seriously as legitimate sources of news and information but as entertainment. Orson Welles began his show by TELLING listeners that it was a radio play (people who tuned in late missed that) and record albums in and of themselves are already not taken seriously so anything said on them holds little weight.Interestingly Orson Welles started to come clean about the Martin Invasion in the 1970's saying "I just wanted to send the lunatic fringe running off into the hills. I just had no idea how widespread the fringe was". Contrast that with John Lennon's various statements about dropping little cryptic clues onto Beatle records to mess with the heads of lunatic fans who were reading into Beatles songs looking for the meaning of life. Both intentions seem to be a big "fuck you" to the fringe element of their fan bases. Maybe that's mean spirited but there's nothing fundamentally wrong with that. Most people got the joke just as most people who heard the War Of the Worlds and the subsequent panic it caused thought it was funny. Most people think PID is funny and I see a lot of comments to that effect on IAAP's videos.

"except for the "angry" people who committed suicide over it. They ain't looking back, are they?"

No one commited suicide over it. That is an urban legend. There was a woman who phoned the police and threatened to take poison but the controversial segment of War of the Worlds that caused all the panic lasted about 20 minutes. It was over before it begun but it did cause enough of an outrage to help to launch Orson Welles' career (his show was going to be cancelled but Campbell Soup immediately became a sponsor meaning that there really is no such thing as bad publicity).

In other countries where people tried to duplicate the broadcast things went a lot of worse. They forgot to put remind listeners that the broadcast was fictional which Orson did at the begining, middle and end of the show.

Interestingly a lot of people also hallucinated that they saw the martians and could smell poison gas. Just the power of the imagination.

That's not the point. The point is not whether they broke the law; the point is that if the "Paul is dead" legend dismays people, those people's quarrel should be primarily with those who initiated it -- and then failed to account for it -- and not so much with those who simply believed what they had heard.

I don't think that "Paul is Dead" can be compared with the War of the Worlds.

I doubt very much that Orson Welles wanted to send anyone running to the hills. His impressions in the 1970's on what he had in mind in 1938 were undoubtedly colored by time and by what sounds like a somewhat provincial perspective on his listening audience.

I doubt that he had anything in mind other than to entertain. He says himself at the end of the 1938 program that his intention was to give his listeners a Halloween scare. I'm sure that he was thoroughly amazed at the reaction that he had received.

Among other things, "War of the Worlds" was not strictly his creation but based on a novel written earlier by H.G. Wells.

Also, the dramatization was noted in the newspapers and the broadcast of it was interrupted on occasions with station identifications announcing that a screenplay based on the H.G. Wells novel was being broadcast.

Given all that, why should Orson Welles have imagined that a dramatization of that novel would cause any commotion? Obviously, there was no intent on his part to create a hoax.

I'm not sure that the Beatles intended to create a hoax either, as such. If my supposition that the "Paul is dead" clues were supposed to be some sort of ritual is correct, then these clues might not have really been intended to be discovered by the public at large in the first place.

That would be an explanation for the presence of the clues and for the Beatles subsequent denial of same.

I am of the mindset that *some* of the clues were indeed intentional as a sort of macabre in-joke for the band.

I am also of the mindset that the band collectively decided to deny any knowledge of the clues so as not to lend any credibility to nutjobs like Manson and the tragic conclusions they had drawn from "hidden things" in the albums.

Iamaphoney has expanded the number of supposed clues and given us some intriguing original music, but nothing he has shown us thus far has changed my outlook on the PID phenomenon, above. (Except, perhaps, that Iamaphoney is another nutjob like Manson...)

65If:"I doubt that he had anything in mind other than to entertain. He says himself at the end of the 1938 program that his intention was to give his listeners a Halloween scare. I'm sure that he was thoroughly amazed at the reaction that he had received.

Among other things, "War of the Worlds" was not strictly his creation but based on a novel written earlier by H.G. Wells.

Also, the dramatization was noted in the newspapers and the broadcast of it was interrupted on occasions with station identifications announcing that a screenplay based on the H.G. Wells novel was being broadcast.

Given all that, why should Orson Welles have imagined that a dramatization of that novel would cause any commotion? Obviously, there was no intent on his part to create a hoax."

I agree to some extent but have you heard the broadcast? The Orson Welles dramatization is very loosely based on the H.G. Wells novel. It is presented as a series of realistic sounding news reports that break into a ficticious dance music show and that is completely alien (pardon the pun) to anything H.G. wrote in his book. Orson was known to disregard the text of whatever he was adapting and put his own spin on it. Orson went so far as to base the news reporter's account of the saucers landing on the famous Hindenburg crash news report and to hire an actor to imitate FDR to lend realism to the fake news reports. His intention was to make it as authentic sounding as possible. To fool people? That was obviously a strong possibility.What he didn't count on were so many listeners to the Bergen and McCarthy show switching over to CBS when the comedian took a break and Dorothy Lamour came on to sing "Two Sleep People". Orson was very much aware of the panic the broadcast was causing because CBS brass entered the studio midway and demanded he announce that it was a radio play. Orson, ever the theater director, waited until the 2nd act was over before making the announcement. The show was going out live over the air and he wasn't going to be interfered with. By that point, the damaging half of the show was over and then it went right into your standard radio play.

So, they are filming the contents and might send the film to you? If they send it to you Mike, will you have to edit it, or do you just plan to post it "as is". I don't think many care if they here a soundtrack or not. Pictures would be just great. Why not pictures?

I am ready! I covered my seat cushion in plastic, moved the couch in the other room to the opposite side of the room (far away from the entrance way), covered it with plastic, and put my bar-bell weights on top of it....just in case. If you have no idea what I am talking about, too bad.

Sorry got a little excited. That wasn't meant for "scoop", the above quote that is. The whole seat/couch thing was something that came up earlier, and I didn't want to have to explain again to those that missed it. I mentioned it now just for fun. I am actually in a pretty good mood. Don't ruin it.

Well, it's after 5:30 in tulip land,and after 4:30 U.K time, so figuring the finger clown is from somewhere in that area, I have a hard time believing that he or Mike is still coherent. Did I mention that it was T.V. time here?

Well, it's after 5:30 in tulip land, and after 4:30 U.K time, so figuring the finger clown is from somewhere in that area, I have a hard time believing that he or Mike is still coherent. Did I mention that it was T.V. time here?

November 2, 2008 8:39 PM

you had to weight down and cover the the couch with plastic for a transvestite? sounds like U R in for a rough evenings where U will eat the words! h8tzer!